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KCDC grand opening shines with sunlight and smiles
Some events just leave you smiling.
Some events hold deeper meaning than others.
Some events stem from great achievements – and those events leave you smiling and linger with you long after the ribbon is cut, the cake is eaten and sidewalks are swept and tidied.
The Kootenay Child Development Centre (KCDC) grand opening June 15 was such an event.
Despite some exterior aesthetics and some tweaking and odds and ends needing doing, the labour of love that is the KCDC officially opened its doors during a celebration beneath bright blue skies and before a smiling and appreciative crowd of supporters, staff, volunteers, dignitaries, parents and, of course, children.
A host of individuals who were key to the expansion of the KCDC, from the massive achievement of raising over $1 million to designing and building what is a now one-stop facility providing essential care for children-in-need from around the region, were recognized and honoured before the ribbon was cut by Haley Bartch and Austin Kirk, with the assistance of Patricia Whalen, KCDC’s Children First Manager (pictured above).
A natural companion to an event filled with smiles is a hug and there were plenty of them to go around Friday morning, as several years of hard work arrived came to a conclusion. And with that conclusion, their work has only just begun as the KCDC now forges forward, striving to provide a wide-variety of services for families in the East Kootenay.
Gwen Noble, executive director of Community Connections Society of Southeast B.C. , which has led the expansion project, said work remains to be done, including raising the final $50,000 of their goal of $1 million.
Aiding the project greatly was the Columbia Basin Trust, with a $250,000 infusion and the provincial government, which has provided $150,000. Along with corporate support, such as from Teck Resources, and a great number of other regional companies and businesses, the KCDC also gathered a huge amount of public money through a myriad of fundraising events over the past few years.
All the people involved in those efforts were graciously thanked by Noble and other KCDC officials.
The next big fundraising effort is the upcoming MOPAR in the Rockies Car Show on July 20 and 21 at Moir Park in Cranbrook.
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
